A - Z: Everybody Wants Sadness!
by TheOneAndOnly1993
Summary: And who wouldn't? She's cute and sweet and smells like depression and boysenberries. A response to a challenge issued by Starnerve; 26 drabbles in alphabetical order, starring Sadness and any of the other four Emotions!
1. A - Anger

**This is me answering a challenge issued by fellow author, Starnerve. Basically, you take an 'Inside Out' pairing and create 26 drabbles, each titled a single word, in alphabetical order. But you can't use the same words Starnerve used.**

 **So because Sadness is a precious cinnamon roll who can do no wrong, and because I think she goes great with everybody, I decided to make this alphabet story use every possible pairing with the little blue munchkin. Besides, who doesn't want Sadness? She's cute and tiny, and smells like depression and boysenberries. Some of these will be goofy, others serious, some hot, some not. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **A - Anger**

Sadness liked Dream Duty, not because it was fun (it was quite the miserable and tedious exercise actually), but because it was the one thing Joy let her do.

Unfortunately, static dominated the giant monitor and filled the quiet of Headquarters with a constant white noise: _"FFFFFFFFF-",_ it went. Dream Productions must be having connection issues again. _Just my luck of course._

Sadness's mouth twisted. She bit the inside of her lip. She tapped her fingers together. Nothing came through on the monitor. Sighing grievously, the Emotion pushed herself on the couch and shuffled her way towards the back of the room where the kitchen door was.

Pushing through the door, Sadness almost bumped into Anger.

"Oh, hey kid," he grumbled, tired eyes peering over the edge of a glass of water. Sadness could only stare at him, her mouth opening and closing with no words coming out. Her chest tightened as she came to a terrifying realization:

She was _alone with Anger._ Volatile, explosive, destructive, _ANGER_.

"Um," she mumbled, taking a step back. Every instinct in Sadness's body told her to run, but, well, she was never much of a walker to start.

Anger, with his silly little brown nightcap, white tank top and sleeping shorts, downed the rest of his drink quickly before giving her a puzzled look. "Kid, what's wrong with you?"

"N-Nothing..." Sadness kept taking glances at the top of his head, trying to find the telltale signs of those glowering fractures breaking open atop Anger's head. "I was just...minding my own business."

Anger blinked slowly. "Alright kid, spill the beans. What's eating you?" He gestured with his hands in a "come over here" motion, but that only seemed to push Sadness further away. Anger held his hands out. "Kid, what's your deal? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Sadness shook to the harshness of his gravelly voice. She swore steam was beginning to rise above the red brick's head, and suddenly her mind filled with all those images of Fear flying back into the wall from one of Anger's mighty punches, his head engulfed in flame, raging and screaming as he who summoned it.

And she was all alone with him.

It took every particle in her construct to summon the voice to speak. "I'm fine," she mumbled, sinking into the collar of her sweater. "Please, I-I wasn't looking for anything, I'm okay. You're fine, there's nothing wrong. It-It's Dream Productions, the-the movie, it won't play and I got tired and, and I..."

" _Wait,"_ Anger threw up his hands, and Sadness froze at both the gesture and bluntness of his tone. "Wait," he said, a little more gently. "Kid, you're not... _afraid_ of me, are you?" His eyes narrowed inquisitively.

But Sadness knew heartache better than anyone, and she could hear past the gruffness of Anger's tone and sense how hurt he was at the realization. Suddenly, as was the teardrop's nature, she felt bad for inflicting emotional pain on Anger, however much of a brick he might be. Ashamed, Sadness could only offer her typical somber gaze.

Anger understood, and he cupped his face and let out a long, gruff sigh. "Great, that's just great," he muttered to himself, looking every which way but directly at Sadness. When his gaze finally did return to her, Anger's lips pursed, and for the longest time it felt like that was all they did: stared. Sadness's instincts told her to run, but whatever force held her refused to let her move a muscle.

"Kid, look." Anger's eyes were on the floor between her slippered feet. "I...You...don't have anything to be afraid of, okay?"

Sadness understood, but she couldn't figure out what to say in reply; Anger took her prolonged silence as one.

"I mean, ugh!" Anger's fists shook. "What I'm trying to say is..." He finally looked up, and from there his eyes were the only soft thing about him. "You don't need to be afraid of me. Now, I understand why that could be a bit hard, believe me, but...I won't ever hurt you guys, you hear me?"

By complete kneejerk reaction, and immediately regretting it the moment she said it too, Sadness blurted out, "What about Fear?"

Anger's mouth hung open, processing that Sadness both spoke so unexpectedly and that she mentioned Fear. Then his face sulked into a grimace. "Oh, that beanpole? Come on, kid. Fear's a complete sponge and we both know it. Besides, you know how it is with us guys, we roughhouse. It's like...hockey!" He wore a grin, but its effect failed to lift Sadness's spirits and Anger quickly abandoned it.

He sighed again. "I'm not good at this empathy stuff, kid. Just...trust me, alright? I'm never going to hurt you, or Joy or Disgust, or even Fear. Much." He snickered a little, but his face quickly turned serious again. "I'm not going to hurt you, you hear me, Sadness?"

The mention of her name made Sadness lift her face, eyes wide and curious.

Anger seemed to notice this, and though he maintained a serious demeanor it didn't fool Sadness; she caught him smirking ever so slightly before resuming.

"In fact, I'm going to make sure I keep you all safe. From what, I don't know. A rampant nightmare or Disgust having a bad hair day," he chortled at his own bad joke, "whatever it is. There's nothing to be afraid of while I'm still kicking and screaming. No son of a gun is laying a hand on anybody, especially you. "

Sadness's breath hitched in her throat, and instantly she plunged nose-deep into her sweater, trying to hide the flattery raging across her face. "'Especially me'?" she echoed, mumbling.

Anger's eyes widened and he sputtered out a few words, as if caught off guard by his own words himself. Sadness could swear she saw a big of pink in his red face. Then Anger said nothing more, outside of a sort of grunt in the back of his throat.

With a nod, Anger averted his eyes and muttered, "'Night, kid," before exiting the kitchen threshold and striding past her.

Another one of those pesky kneejerk reactions took hold of Sadness just then, and as the shorter Emotion waddled by she leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek.

A rush of both fear and a soaring heart took off inside her as she pulled away, and watched as Anger gently put a hand to where she kissed, grabbed at it slightly, and then dropped his hand, all without looking back. That, however, she did not mind one bit.

All's that mattered, was that there was not a glowing fracture in sight against the blackness of Headquarters.

* * *

 **That was fun. Up next is B - Break-ups**

 **Who's the pairing this time?**


	2. B - Breakups

**Art credit goes to cartuneslover17! I didn't know it was her's. When I saw Sadness's face, I knew it was the perfect "I don't give a damn" face she might have if everybody wanted to go out with her, like some cliche Japanese harem.**

* * *

 **B - Breakups**

Joy was sure Emotions didn't have hearts, or stomachs for that matter. She asked Fear once what they were made of, and instead of a simple answer the guy went on and on about a bunch of science mumbo-jumbo that Joy, try as she might, could not stay tuned into for long. What she did understand from the lecture, in summary, was that they were made of "particles," with no vital organs or anything of the sort. But why did Emotions need to sleep? Why did they drink coffee and have breakfast?

Why did Joy feel like someone plunged a knife in her stomach and twisted it whenever she saw her beloved Sadness?

These are questions for wise humans with skinny arms and glasses, not questions Joy could answer, whose mind was always this way and that and never settled on a singular train of thought.

But Riley was always on her mind. Joy didn't like seeing Riley upset, even years after the Incident. Is there anything on this good Earth more heartbreaking than the sobs of a young girl? Especially if that young girl is, for all intents and purposes, your own baby? Sadness understood how Joy felt, because it hurt her too, and she loved her for that.

Sadness did a lot of crying, as was her nature, but also just by being the kind of Emotion she was. Sadness empathized; she understood what people felt when they were hurting, and she always managed to put herself in that person's shoes and feel what they feel in a moment of grief. It's second nature to her, a sixth sense almost.

But when Riley lost a boy she cared for, a boy so deeply rooted into her heart that it hurt every time they had to leave, well...

The rest of the Emotions gave her and the control panel a wide berth, and for a period of several hours it would just be Sadness and Riley, both crying their little hearts out, and all the pain and ache crammed inside. Even days after the fact, oftentimes for a couple weeks, Sadness would hang over the panel, like a dark cloud on someone's mind.

None of the Emotions liked it. Not that they blamed Sadness, even she didn't like making Riley feel this way. But no one would dare risk another incident like that time a couple years back with the Core Memories.

For the rest of her life, Joy would always be thankful of that incident. It helped her Riley, through trials and tribulations sure, but it helped her grow as a person nonetheless. And that was all because of Sadness, not her Joy, but _Sadness,_ the one Joy never thought had any use in Riley's life until a near-death experience in the Memory Dump.

There was a time, long ago, where the sheer recall of how amazing Sadness was when she took the controls and all those Core Memories, as Riley snuggled into her parents' embrace and sighed blissfully, was enough to make Joy pounce on her and kiss every square-inch of her body, listening to her cute little coos and whines all the while.

It took Joy a couple weeks to realize what she felt for the plump little Emotion meant before then; their journey together made Joy realize and experience things she never would have otherwise in the confines of their cozy little Headquarters. Many questions plagued her mind in those days: Are Emotions capable of feeling like this? Has this ever happened before in other peoples' minds? Is Joy truly enamored with Sadness, or is it just a bout of affection and appreciation that will wane to a normal level in about a month?

Joy never got an answer for the first two questions, and frankly, she didn't give a hoot anymore. But to answer the third one: absolutely not. In fact, the feeling only became more and more unbearable as the weeks ticked by until finally, on a night she had Dream Duty, Joy came down to meet Sadness and have a talk with her. Much to her surprise, Sadness had been feeling the same way ever since Joy willingly gave up the controls and help Riley come to terms with the move.

"I know how hard that must have been for you," she said, a hand on top of her's. "It really showed me how much you've grown. I still see it now." Sadness went on to describe how much Joy brightened her day, how much she admired her energy and liked watching her bounce around the room. When she gave Joy one of her shy little smiles, something snapped inside of Joy in that instant, and she dove right in for the kill, or rather, the kiss.

Months passed, then years. The other Emotions didn't really mind their affection, so long as their relationship never interfered with their work. But now, as Riley lost herself in a daydream, allowing Joy a much-needed break, the typically-bubbly Emotion turned with a sober, almost tired look on her face. On this day, her particles were the only thing about her that was glowing.

Joy gazed across Headquarters, where the other Emotions found something to do while Riley's mind wandered into Dream Land: Anger already found himself a spot on the couch, reading a newspaper whose headline read, "PHILOSOPHY: STILL BORING AND USELESS," while Disgust was on the other end applying blush with the help of a compact mirror. Fear was pouring himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen, while Sadness...

Joy's heart twinged, almost painfully so.

Sadness was sitting off to the side by herself, reading a manual. But when her "loving Joy", her "perfect fairy", the "light of her day", made the mistake of meeting her eyes, the teardrop offered the meekest of smiles and waved ever so gently, as was her nature.

Like some mindless beast driven by pure instinct, Joy put on a big grin and swung her arm up in her typically-exaggerated and animated fashion. The corners of Sadness's mouth lifted ever so slightly before her face dropped back down to the manual she was reading.

Even something as simple as a wave made Joy's insides twist. _I can't feel like this anymore._ _I just can't fake this for another day._

Joy walked speedily across Headquarters and ducked into the kitchen, where Fear was by the coffee pot, both hands wrapped around a mug of coffee and tipping it to his lips, eyes closed blissfully. Joy almost felt bad for breaking his tranquility.

"I can't be with Sadness anymore."

Fear's eyes widened and he gasped, then started barking coughs into his sleeve. "Wh-What?" he choked. "Why?"

Joy couldn't take it; she clamped her hands over her face and screamed. "I don't know!" she cried. "I just, I just don't feel anything anymore! I still love her, dearly! But now it's just no different from how I feel about you, or Anger or Disgust!"

"Then talk to her," said Fear, his voice surprisingly level. " _You_ need to talk to her."

"But I can't! I'm afraid to! I make Sadness so happy, this would just destroy her. I, I can't put her through that, I just can't."

Fear pinched the bridge of his long nose, sighing deeply. "I told you guys," he muttered, then louder, "I told you, this wasn't a good idea! I _told you_ that it could only end badly! And now Sadness might not even be able to do her job _for Riley!_ " Joy actually trembled as the hard truth was pounded into her gut. But she knew Fear, and knew there was no malice whatsoever in his scolding, only dismay, for both Sadness's, and in turn Riley's, emotional well-being.

"You're absolutely right, Fear," Joy sighed, too ashamed to look at him. "If I don't handle this right, I could ruin everything." She sniffled; her voice was thick. "Again."

Fear spoke gently. "Don't talk like that. Please." He looked at her warily. "Joy, how long have you been feeling like this?"

Joy rubbed her arm, looking off to the side. "Four weeks," she muttered.

Fear whistled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Wow, I didn't even notice. And you come to me because...why? Am I suddenly the Love Guru here?"

"Because you're the smartest Emotion I know!" Joy said with a forced smile. "And you'll know what I need to say to Sadness, right?"

Her face was so full of hope, so desperate, it hurt Fear to shoot it all down. "Joy," he sighed, "my knowledge is purely mechanical-based. I know nothing about love or sympathy, that's Sadness."

"But I can't talk to Sadness!" she hissed, hands shaking.

"Then try Disgust." Fear tapped his chin. "Or Anger. Maybe."

"No, I can't talk to them, they'll..." Joy averted her gaze, "they'll _hate_ me..."

"Oh Joy, you're overreacting."

His assurance missed Joy completely. Giving him one last mournful look, Joy's head dropped, and she let out a sharp sob, her shoulders bouncing to her cries. Fear's heart twisted, and he stepped forward and put a hand on her arm.

"Joy..." he said softly, "you need to talk to her. It isn't like you to feel this way."

Joy wiped her hands across her face. "I can't, Fear," she muttered, staring straight ahead with glassy eyes. "She loves me so much. I'm like the best thing that ever happened to her. How can I just throw that all in her face? How would I _live_ with myself?"

Fear offered a sad smile. "Just talk to her, Joy. You might be surprised. But do it before Riley wakes up from her daydream." With a clasp on her shoulder, Fear padded across the kitchen and pushed through the door, mug in hand.

* * *

"Sadness?"

The plump Emotion looked up from her manual, and immediately her face brightened. "Joy, hi!" She pushed herself up to walk over, stepping gingerly over the manual, and give Joy a hug.

Her arms wrapped around Joy's waist, and without even a smirk Joy placed her hands on the back of Sadness's head. "Hey you," she cooed, bending over to kiss the top of her head.

Sadness pulled away, her fingers twiddling together and face glowing with a smile. But only after a second of looking at Joy's face, past the forced smile she suddenly had on and into her tired gaze, Sadness's jubilance turned to concern. "Are you okay?"

With a deep sigh, Joy dropped the act; she sat down criss-cross and patted the space beside her. "Sadness," she said gently, "can we talk?"

Sadness looked to Joy, then the space beside her. After a moment of hesitance she sat down beside her, her short legs straightened out before her.

For a time, the two of them just sat there, staring out to where Riley's Islands of Personality floated about, anchored to their home. Neither of them said a word, but the silence they shared was obvious. But Joy knew Sadness would be willing to sit there for hours and wait for her to speak. Joy also knew she could abuse it as a way to prolong the inevitable, at least for a time. But as the seconds ticked by, and what needed to be said went on unspoken, Joy felt her own insides were wasting away. And Riley didn't have hours to daydream. It was now or never.

"Sadness," she began, and immediately Joy knew she mucked this up by refusing to look her in the eye, yet despite that she couldn't even muster up the courage to meet her gaze. _Coward._ "You and I both care about each other very much. There's no doubt about that. And no matter what happens, whatever happens between us, that is never going to change. And the couple years you and I have been together have been the best of my life."

"You're breaking up with me?" Sadness breathed.

Joy shut her eyes, bit her lip. Every word seemed to anger the snakes writhing in her belly. "I'm sorry," she choked. "Sadness I'm so sorry, but I just don't feel the same anymore. I just don't feel the same way I did when you and I first got together. You're an amazing Emotion, Sadness. It's all my fault; I just can't force myself to feel something I really don't." Joy looked over, and her heart nearly broke in half at the sight:

Sadness had her face buried in her hands, her glasses pushed hastily up her forehead. Her entire figure was trembling. Joy felt more tears prickle her eyes.

She placed a hand tenderly on Sadness's shoulder and squeezed until the fabric bunched in her hand. "I'm so sorry, Sadness," she whimpered. "Please, please don't hate me..."

Joy didn't expect Sadness to talk for a bit, and was perfectly content to sit beside her and let her cry her heart out, for once being the shoulder to cry on rather than Sadness.

But she nearly jumped when the teardrop threw her head back, giggling and laughing harder than Joy had ever seen her before. It was almost scary. "Sadness?!"

"Joy! You-!" Sadness's face turned red from laughing so hard; she brought the collar of her sweater up to stifle it until it died down. "This is exactly how I've felt!" she said, grinning broadly at Joy. "I was so afraid, Joy! I was so afraid for so long that I'd hurt you, I just couldn't bring myself to do it!" Sadness threw her head back and laughed some more, clapping her hands together.

Her giggling was infectious, and soon Joy was grinning at the sweet sound. Soon she was howling with her through the tears staining her cheeks, the teardrop's words beginning to dawn on her. "Sadness, how long have you been feeling like this?!" she laughed.

Sadness's giddy tittering declined then, but a smile still held her as she answered sheepishly, "Four months." Her grin turned bashful. "Sorry."

Joy's eyed widened. "You let yourself be miserable in a relationship that lost its spark for _four months!?_ And...and it's all because you didn't want to _hurt me?_ " Joy's glow brightened, as did her smile. "Sadness, you big goofball! You're the best, you know that?" She dove on top of the plump Emotion and hugged her tight; Sadness rocked back, laughing and returning the embrace.

At the opposite end of Headquarters, behind the ramp and out of sight, the three remaining Emotions spectated the display.

Fear couldn't wipe the grin off his face if he wanted to. "See? What'd I tell ya? They're fine."

Anger grunted.

Disgust nodded. "Can't believe both of them went to you for relationship advice."

Anger snickered, but Fear didn't hear either of them. Joy and Sadness's laughter and giggling continued to fill Headquarters. "Can you believe those two used to hate each other?" he asked wistfully.

Anger glanced up at him. "I can."

* * *

 **It all works out in the end. Sorry I didn't update yesterday, and that this one might not have been very fun. I'll try to make up for it with another today: C - Comply**


	3. C - Comply

**C - Comply**

A sickly grime stained the floors of Headquarters and up the walls. Its swampy greens and browns, on top of its thick, soupy consistency, gave it the likeness of shit smeared all over Headquarters, and while it wasn't precisely shit (God only knows what that stuff actually was), it was a fair representation of Riley's mental state these days.

Even the cheerful blues and soft purples that illuminated Headquarters were gone, now dominated by a dark green hue that made the whole lair, well, just that: a lair. No longer was HQ the positive beacon that dominated over Riley Anderson's mind, a nigh castle to all of the residents and workers residing and maintaining the other parts of her consciousness. Nowadays one would be hard-pressed to even find a soul willing to spare the green-hued monument anything more than a contemptuous passing glare.

They knew who to blame. They knew who failed to keep their Riley safe and happy.

They knew who ruined her life.

In the detritus of Headquarters, life was a perpetual loop no bigger than the wheel of a bicycle:

Anger was nowhere to be seen, bound and gagged by his old coworkers up in their old living quarters, which they didn't need anyway. Not these days. Sometimes they could hear him flaming and screaming, trying to break free. Today, though, he was blessedly silent.

Joy was sprawled across the old musty sofa, a big stupid grin on her brown-splotched face. Her dress, once green and vibrant and always floating around her knees, was now covered in the grime and tattered at the skirts. It was enough to make a certain green Emotion heave whenever she so much as glanced in her direction. But Joy didn't care, she, as Disgust put it, had no shame anymore.

Despite her apparent happiness, Joy's feet were kicking and pushing spastically, no sense of rhythm. Her movements slowed when a nappy blanket was thrown over her. Sadness moved forward and tucked the edges in to keep Joy bundled up; she gave a happy sigh, and Sadness sighed sadly. She put a hand to Joy's stained cheek.

"Sadness, why are you near that _thing_ again?"

She brushed some blue hair out of the pixie's face. "She was fidgeting again." Her brows furrowed. "And this was my _friend._ "

Sadness heard feet angrily shuffling towards her; she had to remind herself not to groan out loud, not when she could hear. They stopped right behind her, and Sadness hardened herself for what was to come next. "Ugh, _move._ " With both hands Disgust shoved Sadness aside. The plump Emotion stuck out both hands to break her fall, yet she banged her knee hard and grunted through her teeth.

Her girlfriend being irritated with her though, that hurt more.

She looked over to see Disgust, her skin just as brown and blotchy as Joy's but still, in a way, beautiful to behold. That was one of the main reasons Sadness knew she was kept around. Disgust burst into tears when it got as bad as it did, but Sadness's soothing words made her melt like butter. Her constant assurances were like a drug for Disgust as much as Riley's were to Joy. She wasn't oblivious, she knew Disgust only wanted her so she could feel beautiful. What with Anger too volatile to be trusted, and Fear a coward, and Joy...

Only Sadness had the mind to even be a "genuine presence", as Disgust always put it. There was more though, she knew it was because she complied with whatever Disgust asked of her; complied with her orders, complied to tell her what she wanted to hear, and Sadness was aware she was bottom-of-the-barrel material. That's how she always felt about herself; both physically and socially she was the bottom rung of the totem pole.

And if she never got that, it was made almost painfully obvious now, with the way Disgust rarely ever kissed her back, and only once was it on the lips. But Sadness didn't mind; the others were _her_ drug, they kept her going, and these days, any form of companionship would do.

No matter how...rough.

When Sadness looked over her shoulder, twisting into a sitting position, Disgust was towering over Joy's form, a doped smile still plastered on her face. "Hey, druggie!" she snapped, her face cute and pouty and hands on her hips; it was Disgust's way of maintaining an illusion of authority. "Druggie, I got some acid here! Some LSD! Come on, up up!" She clapped her hands together, and Joy responded with a low chuckle, and nothing else.

Her face scrunching into a scowl, Disgust grabbed Joy by the frill of her tattered dress. She made no noise outside of a moan-like sound as Disgust brought her close to her face. "You," she breathed in deep, " _disgust_ me."

And then Joy giggled hysterically. "There's nothing left!" she cried.

Without another word, Disgust dropped Joy back into the sofa, her hands snapping open suddenly and shaking like they wanted to do _more._

She continued glaring at Joy, her whole body shaking and tears welling in her eyes. "You used to be _good,_ " she whispered, voice trembling. Without another thought Sadness pushed herself up and skittered over to Disgust, tackling her into a hug.

"She still is," murmured Sadness. "We just need to make her remember."

"It's been a whole year since we ran away with Claire," Disgust reflected, a sob choking her. "Eight, Eighteen and wasted, that's all Riley is now." Her arms closed around Sadness. "Why? _Why_ did she ignore me after the first time?"

"None of us saw it coming."

But Disgust kept going, squeezing Sadness against her breast; her whole body shuddered. "Why did I want her to fit in?!" she cried. "This all could have been avoided if I just did my _job!_ "

Sadness didn't know what to say anymore; she tried reminding Disgust of the times she succeeded, assuring her it wasn't her fault (it was Joy's idea to try that stuff, after all, and Anger knocked Fear out cold when he wouldn't shut up beforehand), she even tried to get her to help turn Riley's life around, but...

Sadness looked out the window; Riley's Islands of Personality were all at the bottom of the Memory Dump, and the Core Memories with them.

Thinking of the Memory Dump made her think of the time she and Joy saved Riley from this fate they were now in, all those years ago. Then she remembered the last thing Joy said before she became a drug-addled wastrel: "Bing Bong would be rolling in his grave."

Looking around Headquarters, and out the monitor, to the trashy alleyway somewhere in northern California that Riley made her new home, Sadness was glad he wasn't here to see what his Riley has become.

He'd be so sad.

Sadness and Disgust stood there in the din of Headquarters, holding each other and letting the taller Emotion cry into her girlfriend's hair until a familiar, sharp _ping!_ grabbed their attention. They turned to the direction of the console to see the idea-lightbulb wedged inside and glowing bright. Their view of the red brick-wall became the ground as their baby girl pushed herself up.

"I got an itch," they heard her mumble.

"No!" Disgust groaned, sprinting towards the console. Fear was already there, his clothes as horrid and stained as everybody else's, and sleep deprivation always haunting his ghastly appearance.

"No, no," he droned on tiredly. "We can't, we need money or else the guys will break our other fingers, remember? We need to pay back." He pressed a button, and Riley stopped in her tracks with a start.

Sadness and Disgust joined him. "Let's just beg again," the teardrop suggested, pressing a button that made Riley give a miserable sigh. "Or we can just take up Chocolate Pretzel's offer. I mean we can't fall any further already."

"Hell _no!_ " Disgust smashed her own area of buttons and levers with a force that would make Anger swell with pride. As she did, Riley stood up straight, her gaze steeling. "We are _not_ going to whore ourselves out! Riley's better than that!"

Fear looked at Disgust a moment, taken aback, then smiled one of his rare-smiles. "Best thing I've heard all week."

Sadness gazed upon the huffy, supposed-ladylike Emotion glaring and snarling at the monitor like a mother protecting her young. _Riley's still there,_ she thought. _Through Disgust she's not completely gone._

There was silence, and then, "Well said," admired Fear, giving her a thumbs-up.

Gasping, Sadness dove into the collar of her sweater. "I said that out loud?" she breathed. One glance at Disgust, and the big smile she had, gave clarification enough.

"You're such a flatterer, sweetie," cooed Disgust, pressing a couple more buttons to make Riley sit down and ponder the big hole in the knee of her jeans. She looked over, grinning smugly. "And that's why I keep you around," she teased.

Sadness laughed shyly, and then leaned over to give Disgust a peck on the cheek; her girlfriend turned at the same time as well, a wry smile and a glance from the corner of her eye before turning and meeting Sadness's lips with her own. They both pulled away quickly, their faces aglow.

"Sadness," she said, still red and smiling, "go find some hockey memories for me, and memories of Mom and Dad."

She twiddled her fingers together. "But we tried that already, won't that just make Riley sad?" she asked, unease creasing her brow.

Yet Disgust, for the first time in weeks, gave her a confident smile. "Oh yes it will," she said.

Now Fear was giving her a look. "But then Riley would just take more drugs until they're faded completely. What are you getting at?"

"She's out of money!" Disgust hissed excitedly. "Everybody, shut up! I'm about to be brilliant!" She pointed at Fear's face, making him recoil. "While _you're_ keeping her fears going, _we're_ gonna keep beating her down with these memories until she goes back home! Sadness could you-?"

When she turned the plump little Emotion was already gone, calling up the Mind Workers in Long Term Memory for a bit of Recall. The whole time it was ringing, she had on a small little smile that only grew as the seconds ticked by. It reached it's breaking point when a tired voice came on the other end. "Yes?"

"There's still a chance to save Riley."

* * *

 **Thanks everybody for reading, I love every review that I get.**

 **This one was a little sad, but I made sure to put a light at the end of the tunnel for you guys! You know, for the first Sadness X Disgust story on here, it was kinda one-sided and depressing. Let's make a happy one with the next chapter: D - Disgust**


	4. D - Disgust

**D - Disgust**

Disgust never tried analyzing why she liked Sadness. Was it because she managed to be beautiful without an inch of makeup? Or how comfortable she was in the body she was born with? Or her heroism in navigating Long Term Memory that one time with Joy, and then helping their little Riley through one of the most difficult times of her young life? Maybe it was all of those things, Disgust didn't know for sure. She never tried analyzing why she liked Sadness. All's she knew was when she stood near her these days, it would send her particles in a frenzy.

Disgust tried everything to get Sadness's attention. She tried flirting, favors, taking up extra shifts of Dream Duty. She even gave her some makeup tips, though she has yet to see the teardrop put any of them to use. Nothing seemed to work. But desperate times call for desperate measures, and Disgust will be damned if she can't get Sadness, _Sadness_ of all people, to like her!

So one day, she came to work without something special. No, not her beloved ascot, or the shoes that went with it. Not her blush or her orchid-shaded lipstick, Riley forbid she left without those on.

Instead, Disgust left her room that morning without her typical forest-green tights on.

She was on the sofa, hands folded in her lap, her head laid back, pretending to be resting her eyes. Minutes later she heard that familiar shuffle of Sadness's footsteps nearing the couch.

As she passed by Disgust "woke up", feigning surprise. "Ah, Sadness!" she said. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

Sadness looked quite taken aback, with her hands on her collar and eyes looking to and fro before settling on Disgust. In a real school setting, Sadness would be the lonely nerdy girl who just fell and landed face-first into her lunch. And of course today they'd be having chili. Disgust would be the girl who stuck her leg out to trip her. It was quite unexpected for their own resident "cool girl" to be wasting her time talking to someone like Sadness. "I, I slept fine, thanks." She offered a little smile. "Did you?"

Disgust stretched languidly, deliberately, moaning in a rather provocative manner. "Like a baby," she sighed. When she looked to Sadness, half-lidded, the teardrop was just smiling and nodding, no reaction to her seductive efforts. Disgust hid a withering glare behind a thin smile.

 _Time to pull out the big guns._

She shifted in her spot, bringing up one naked leg and swinging it around the other, so she was sitting cross-legged.

Disgust never prided herself on having a perfect figure; her beauty always stemmed from the care she puts every day into her makeup and costume. In truth, Disgust wasn't a fan of her wide hips and thick legs, thus it is why she always made the effort to cover herself with tights and wide flowing skirts. But she wasn't a fool; she knew everybody had their own little preferences in the realm of sexual attraction, and if Sadness hasn't been head-over-heels for a little blush and long eyelashes from the day they first met, well, a different approach never hurt.

But sitting now, staring languidly into Sadness's gawking face, Disgust wondered why she ever felt any shame at all.

She was always considered a leggy girl, but the way one can view them changes completely once that thin barrier of cloth was shed, revealing her vibrant green skin with only the air of headquarters hugging them. Crossing them only highlighted the girth of her thighs, their curve that had just the right amount of give when one pressed on top of the other. The way her dress precariously hiked up their length to an almost ridiculously inappropriate degree helped show them off.

In short, Disgust thought with a touch of smug and a whole lot of pride, _I look damn sexy._ This was yet another thing she'd have to thank Sadness for unintentionally helping her with.

"Um, well that's good to hear," Sadness said.

Disgust blinked; she almost forgot what she was referring to. "Oh! Yes, right. I love my silken pajamas, they're heavenly. I'm glad I have more than one set in case I wake up in the middle of the night with gross sweats." Her nose wrinkled at the thought.

Then something Disgust did not understand occurred. Sadness, no longer even sparing so much as a glance at her secret admirer's display, had her eyes trained completely on Disgust's face and looking right into her eyes, never breaking away, and she smiled. "I understand," she said. "I sometimes wake up sobbing into my pillow and it's all wet and uncomfortable. I have plenty of clean and soft pillows in my closet in case that happens." Her smile deepened. "There's nothing like laying your face into a fresh pillow."

Disgust blinked, still somewhat taken aback by Sadness's sheer _ignorance_. "Uh, yeah." Or was it willpower? "That makes sense." What is wrong with that girl!?

Sadness gave her a withering look, then shuffled away with a mild, "I'll see you later."

"Bye," she mumbled, half in thought.

This was a girl pretty much flaunting her goodies at some lowly nerd! How is Sadness still not totally into her?!

A low chuckle ripped her from her thoughts. Disgust whipped her glare over at the intruder, and his red, blocky head. "Wow," he whistled, "you are _sad._ "

"Oh shut up," Disgust huffed, folding her arms and sinking back into the sofa. "Like you would know anything that was happening."

Anger barked again. "Ha! Are you that lost in your own little world, Princess? I was sitting here the whole time reading the paper! Up until you started batting your eyes at Sadness, of course."

Disgust was grateful she was already wearing blush.

Anger continued digging under her skin. "Man, you must be lost in something. Your own ass maybe?" That time she threw a shoe at him, hitting Anger square in the face. "Ha! Validation!" he cried, one hand clenched into a fist, pumping in the air, while the other rubbed his face where a nose would be. "Ah," he groaned, looking at his hand and then back to Disgust. "But I'm still right. You've known Sadness for almost twelve years now and _this_ is what you think will get her to, I don't even know what you want from her, a servant? A brown-nose? Can't imagine you like her as an actual person."

A second shoe came flying towards him, this time Anger ducked. He stood back up, sneering. "Ha! You...missed..." Anger's face fell, as did his competitive energy he always got from horsing around with the pouty Emotion was whisked away.

Disgust was no noticeably farther from him, almost at the very end of the sofa, her arms folded rather tightly against her chest and face looking away. He noticed her trying to hold a firm, steely glare at some random point across Headquarters, but the facade crumbled as he heard her breathing quicken. Disgust was too proud to sound what she wanted to, as much as it hurt to force it down.

"Ah geez," Anger grumbled. He glanced around, perhaps to make sure no one was listening. "Look, I'm...I'm sorry, kid. Alright?" He awaited her answer for several tense moments, hoping she wasn't giving him the silent treatment.

And then suddenly, "You don't know anything about me," she hissed, her voice low and throbbing.

Anger's gaze turned sympathetic. He scratched the top of his scalp, then with a sigh he leaped up the sofa to where he sat next to her. Disgust showed no reaction. "Look," he began, "if you really care about Sadness, then let me tell you something: I think you're going about this the wrong way. Sadness doesn't give a hoot about how pretty you are, and that's not gonna change, no matter how much skin you show." Disgust subconsciously pulled down at the edge of her skirt, starting to feel a little exposed now that her efforts only resulted in a humiliating failure.

Anger continued, either not noticing or just pretending he didn't. "I think Sadness likes it when you're honest with her, or...no, she cares about knowing you as a person! Maybe...?" He scratched his head. "No, no wait! Sadness likes people who are real with her, I think. She likes people who are kind and are real with her, and can empathize with her."

Disgust pondered a moment, of how much of an honest and kind Emotion she truly was on a daily basis. The result made her sick to her stomach. "So you're saying I have absolutely no chance," she muttered bitterly.

"What? No, I didn't say that! I mean, look at what you did just now. I mean, I saw it in that little exchange you guys had, about clean bedsheets or whatever. Sadness was all over that." His face wrinkled. "Oddly enough." When Disgust gave no immediate answer, Anger clasped her roughly on the shoulder and said, "Sleep on it, Princess. I'm gonna get more water."

Disgust mulled over Anger's words, then turned back and caught him just before he entered the kitchen. "Wait, Anger!" He turned, a puzzled look on his face. "How do you know so much about Sadness?"

With just the most punchable self-satisfied chuckle, Anger waddled back to the sofa, a sheepish grin on his face. The look definitely didn't suit him, or perhaps Disgust just wasn't used to seeing such a thing. "Well," he said, "a bit before we moved to San Francisco, Sadness ran into me on a night she had Dream Duty, and I was getting a glass of water." His eyes widened a little as he thought back on the memory. "She was _terrified_ of me. So I told her, I went to her and I said all gently-like, 'I'm never going to hurt anybody, I'll protect you guys, especially you.' That last part just was kind of a whatever line, you know? To help her feel better. But as I was walking away, the kid..." he hesitated, "...she just went and, I dunno, pecked me one on the cheek!"

Disgust gazed down, once again rendered speechless by Anger's words. Said Emotion took that as his signal to go. "Like I said, Princess, think about it." He waddled back to the kitchen.

And think about it she will. Disgust had a lot of work to do. "I'll show you that I can be a good person," Disgust pledged aloud to the empty room. "By Riley's will, I can change for you."

Feeling confidant once more, Disgust marched back up the ramp to throw on a pair of tights. But as she threw the door open to the main corridor that connected to all of their bedrooms, she almost walked right into a face of somber-azure. "Oh, Sadness!" said Disgust, feigning a casual smile.

Sadness did not answer right away, and when she moved her arms forward Disgust suddenly realized she was hiding something behind her back, something small and pink. "You left these downstairs."

Her shoes. Disgust turned a pale shade of green, and she regarded her footwear with only a haunting look like they were made of broccoli. _How did she get here so fast? Unless she was somehow still around when Anger was..._

Disgust would have turned and ran like a coward, had it not been for what Sadness said next freezing her in her tracks. "Please don't change yourself for me," she said. "That'd make me really sad."

Disgust's breath stopped, though her nonexistent heart kept hammering away. She felt a flush creep up her neck.

"I don't think you're a bad Emotion, Disgust," she continued. Sadness's eyes narrowed as she explained, "I think you're really nice in your own way, and, and just talking to me makes me feel really special sometimes. That's nice too." She looked down, smiling sheepishly. It took every particle in Disgust's body to keep her breathing steady. "And also, how you really care about Riley, I like that too. It makes me think that any other cool girl like you wouldn't care about someone like me or Riley, but you really care about us a lot anyway. That's...nice."

Sadness looked up, and smiled sadly at Disgust. She rose a hand and touched her cheek, accidentally smearing some of her blush with shed tears. But Disgust didn't care; instead, she put a hand on top of Sadness's and held it to her face gently.

"What I'm trying to say is, you're a good Emotion, Disgust. And I really like that." She glanced down. "Uh...sorry about all that. And _this_."

Disgust did the same, and noticed that at some point, her and Sadness's other hands joined, their fingers laced together. And Sadness was sorry about that!? Disgust didn't care anymore about her proper mannerisms she spent many years trying to build up and empathize. Without any sense or thought, she swooped down and planted her lips firmly on Sadness's. The teardrop squeaked in surprise, and kind of just stood there with her eyes open in shock and red ravaging her face until Disgust pulled away, a gentle smile on her face.

"Thank you so much for that, sweetie." Disgust sauntered away to her room, shoes in hand, leaving Sadness in the doorway of the Sleeping Quarters with a gawking mouth and red still in her face. She snapped out of her stupor to the sound of Disgust's door slamming shut, then from there she looked around to make sure she was alone, before burying her face in her collar and squealing into it.

* * *

 **This was adorable to write. And yes, I'm planning on sharing an "arc" or sorts with each of the name-based drabbles, so after J - Joy and F - Fear these will all be coming to a head in S - Sadness. Anyway, join me next time for when things get a little heated in E - Excite.**


	5. E - Execution

**Hey everybody, sorry this took so long. I was kinda stumped with E - Excite, because it was originally a Joy story but I wanted to be fair and give one for Fear. So the idea changed, and now we have E - Execution, in which Riley watches something deeply disturbing. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **E - Execution**

There came a night when Riley spied on Dad watching a television show.

It was a Sunday night, well past her bedtime, but Riley wasn't tired yet, and she was in a mischievous mood: Dad was watching a television program that he and _especially_ Mom said she was too young to watch, but Mom was asleep, and it's about time Riley watched some grown-up programs, too!

Riley was unsure of what this show contained or its central plot, it was one of those big movie-esque programs on a special channel, and involved medieval kings and queens and knights and dragons. But she heard a lot about this show, and despite Fear's worries of getting caught, and by extension Sadness's despair at how she'll feel should their parents be disappointed in them, the others too wanted to see what all the big fuss was about.

Riley tread down the stairs on slippered feet, and peered through the bars of the stairwell, at the television glowing brightly in the darkness of the living room. She spotted Dad, oblivious to her presence as his back was to her, feet kicked up on the coffee table.

On the screen, there was a young man in black with a big bushy head of black hair and milky-white skin. He was giving orders to his men, but they were apparently all jokes and jests, as his men laughed and the dour-faced leader cracked a smile. Joy was laughing too, and by extension Riley grinned; she didn't understand the "old timey humor" as Joy so aptly named it, but these seemed to be a merry bunch at least. Disgust herself was humming as she tapped a button, remarking, "Those furs and leathers are so _ugly_."

"I bet they're really warm and snuggly," rhymed Joy, hugging herself.

The scene continued, and like business all jokes were put aside and the young man started giving out real orders and honors to some of his men. Because Riley and her Emotions didn't know these characters or this world, a lot of it didn't resonate with them. Disgust took the controls, making Riley feel somewhat bored.

Things got interesting when one of his followers, a bald-headed man with a red face, was supposed to man some castle but he refused to follow them. He said all sorts of unspeakable things to his leader, and even calling him a "bastard" at least a few times. Anger, growling in the back of his throat, pulled a lever back slightly and Riley furrowed her brows in turn; she understood now why her parents refused to let her see this show.

"This chump's just asking for a whoopin'," Anger muttered with a wolfish grin. It only grew as he saw the young man's stoic, hardened face that just looked ready to explode. Fear kept his hands on console, feeling the tension rise in the scene as did his cohorts, as they were all leaning forward expectantly.

In a near mumble, the young man uttered, "Take him outside...and bring me my sword."

The Emotions all leapt back in shock. "Wait, what!?" cried Joy.

"Wait, wait, wait, he's _killing_ him?" said Anger. "Like actually murdering a guy just for saying 'no'?"

"Ohmigosh!" Disgust shook her hands. "He's gonna like cut him in half and it'll be so bloody and grody!"

Sadness covered her hands with her eyes. "Why is he just killing this man after one rule-breaking?" she moaned.

Only Fear remained on the console, both hands still gripping two levers as he stared up at the screen, completely petrified. His influence made Riley's face crease with worry, but in no way did she veer her startled gaze.

The music in the scene was like a wardrum, beating a rapid three times in succession and only swelling in volume and intensity as the man was dragged out by his friends, struggling all the while. Then he was shoved over a log, and the young man approached with his sword, a four foot monster of stainless steel with a wolf's head pommel.

He unsheathed it with an icy metallic hiss, and rested both gloved hands over the pommel. "If you have any last words my lord..."

Joy was suddenly overcome with a case of the blinks, and her eyes began zipping around, as if she was just realizing where she was and what was happening. Then she saw Fear, the only one who should be at the console, not moving a muscle.

She felt her stomach do a flip. "Fear!" she cried.

"I was wrong!" the red-faced man sobbed. "You're the Lord Commander! We all serve you!"

"Fear, get her out of here! She can't see this!"

"I, I can't!" Fear shrilled, looking back over his shoulder. "Something's not letting me, I...she can't look away!"

"You mean she can't, or you _won't_?"

The man continued blubbering. "I'm sorry, not only for this, but all I've done and said!"

Sadness couldn't take it; with a cry she skittered forward to the console, almost held by the scruff of her sweater by Joy but it stretched and slipped from her grasp. Sadness stopped beside Fear, practically slamming herself against the buttons. "He's so remorseful, don't kill him!" she begged to the screen. Now Riley was gripping the bars of the stairwell, so hard she squeezed that her knuckles turned white. She felt a pang of remorse for this poor man, begging for his life.

The man rose his sword.

Joy's heart stopped. "Fear!"

 _"My Lord, please!"_ And like magic, those three words halted the young man's cut. "Mercy!" gasped the portly man. "Mercy..."

All of the Emotions held their breath, and much like Headquarters everything seemed to have stopped: the music, the energy, even the very air seemed to still. Both Fear and Sadness stepped slowly away from the panel, though a purple tinted glow lingered on the console, leaving Riley feeling anxious. In the quiet of Headquarters, if they listened close enough, the Emotions swore they heard her heart pounding.

"I'll go, I will!" the man sobbed. "Please...I'm afraid. I've always been afraid..." He lowered his head, and proceeded to let out a few choked sobs and sniffles. It seemed as though the scene was over just then, that to Sadness, human sympathy won out in the end, and for that, she was relieved. She couldn't imagine Riley trying to grapple with such a heartless and brutal execution being so young, especially her Emotions. Though Abstract Thought is going to have a field day as their girl ponders the subject matter in bed tonight, and Dream Productions are certainly going to have a good scare flick later.

But then Sadness noticed something about this young man, this "Lord Commander", as his face suddenly twisted into a snarl and then, half a heartbeat later,

 _SHINK!_

Riley jumped back with a start, and then the console went dark, losing its purple glow. In a flash the blade had cut through the man's neck like it were air, and blood spewed from where his head was cut. It all happened so fast, and Riley was just sitting there, gawking at the screen. A purple and blue memory orb came rolling down the metal track and clinked to a stop next to a red one, but the Emotions acted as if they didn't hear a thing.

They simply stood there, away from the control panel, staring at the screen with stunned expressions.

Unsure of how to feel about what transpired, and certainly not wanting to see anymore herself, Riley retreated to her room.

Even the Emotions themselves didn't have many words to say. "Uh," Anger began, scratching the back of his head, "I'll, uh, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Yeah, same." Disgust shuffled up the ramp past Anger.

Without a word, Joy quietly padded up the ramp after her friends. No hopping or bouncing, and only a haunted, pondering stare adorned her face. Before entering their living complex, Joy, hand on the knob, looked back and saw Sadness and Fear still standing there, staring at the screen like zombies.

"Sadness? Fear? Are you coming to bed?"

Only Sadness looked over her shoulder, giving Joy a somber look. "We'll be up later, Joy," she said. "We just..." she thought for the right words, "...we just need to figure this out." The second gesture she made at the screen, which offered a view of Riley as she brushed her teeth, made Joy understand, and put on a warm smile.

"Don't keep her up too late now," she said, closing the door behind her.

As soon as they were alone, Fear let out a breath he had been holding for quite some time. He trailed off into a sigh, cupping his face in his hand. "I really messed this up," he muttered, refusing to look.

Sadness gently took his other hand in her own. "No you didn't," she said. "You felt that Riley needed to see that."

"Well yeah, maybe, but why didn't I..." Fear's eyes popped open, and for a brief moment the single hair on his head stood straight as a ruler. "Wait, how did you know that?" he asked in wonderment.

Sadness let go of his hand and strolled over to the couch. "Do you remember, after the move, when I started touching the Core Memories and I didn't know why?"

"Yeah," Fear strolled after her and took his seat beside her, "you said you thought there was something wrong with you. I thought that was very interesting. Why do you ask?" His eyes widened. "Is that happening to me now? Why didn't I make her look away, Sadness? I mean, just last year I made her change the channel at 'Shoes of Doom'! But now..." He calmed at the gentle pressure of Sadness's hand taking his own. He looked down at it, at Sadness's thumb brushing over the back of his hand, and dropped his head in defeat. "Nothing," he concluded. "I failed Riley. I made her watch something horrifying!"

"Yes, you did," said Sadness. "It was horrible and scary and you _made her_ watch..."

Fear looked at her incredulously, then his stare turned dry. "You're usually really good at making people feel better."

Sadness couldn't help but smile. "...Just like I made her remember Minnesota, and cry to her parents," she finished.

Though he looked like he wanted to say something, Fear opted to shut his mouth and think, stroking his chin contemplatively. Before long, a rueful grin appeared. "That...makes sense I suppose."

Sadness grinned. "Yeah?"

Fear nodded. "It does, but...why this? Why now? Why something so brutal and _savage_?! Why...!"

"Shh..." hushed Sadness, squeezing his hand again. "One step at a time, Fear."

He gave a big sigh. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," she said patiently.

For a long while the two sat there in silence, as silent as Riley, as she stared at the ceiling of her bedroom.

"Sadness?"

"Yeah?"

Fear was silent for another moment. "Do you think that..." he paused, and his voice cracked as he said, "...that Riley is getting older, and our instincts as her emotions are changing too?"

Her voice was almost a whisper. "Yes."

"Huh." Fear scoffed a little. "Wonder if Disgust will ever get over broccoli." That made her giggle a tiny bit, a sound soft and fluttery as a baby bird's first flight. The rare sound made Fear smile, and lightened some of the insufferable weight in his chest.

The two were still quiet, watching, waiting. Their inactivity was affecting Riley, and Fear was fully aware of it. He knew what he had to do, and so did Sadness, but instead the two sat there, waiting for something to happen. Fear began inattentively picking at the sofa's stitching.

"Sadness?"

"Hm?"

"I..." Fear swallowed. "I feel like...I want to replay that memory. The scene, I mean, from the show. I want to watch it with her."

"Then do it."

"But what if - "

"Don't try fighting it, Fear." Sadness's voice shook, frightening the timid Emotion and forcing him to look down on her. She was gazing up at him, tears glistening in her eyes. "You remember what happened last time, don't you?"

Fear shivered as though hit by a cold breeze. He remembered watching his little girl, dying slowly on the inside every waking hour, each of the Islands of Personality crumbling and falling into the Memory Dump. He remembered that Sadness saved her. Though his educated mind knew this was nowhere near as dire a situation, Riley still needed him to play his part. But still...

Fear tugged at his bowtie. "It will scare her."

"It will, and it'll be sad to watch."

"She'll have nightmares!"

"At least you have Dream Duty." Fear gazed down a her, half-lidded. Sadness simply shrugged. "I'm sorry I don't know what to tell you, Fear. But Riley needs you."

He felt his hand squeezed again; Fear realized that they've been holding hands this entire time. He swallowed a lump in his throat and looked away from those beautiful shining eyes and across Headquarters, at the newest memory orb colored blue and purple. He stood up and shuffled his way across the Headquarters, not realizing the whole time that he was dragging Sadness along by her hand.

The plump Emotion made no noise of protest as she was dragged across the glossy floors, as she enjoyed the ride like it was her and Joy's trek through Long Term Memory all over again. Though Fear's dependence on her was something that truly dawned on her as he grabbed the orb, put it into the projector, and then sat back on the couch and helped lift her up to it, all without ever letting go of her hand.

A dark blue coated Sadness's face. As the horrible scene played all over again she kept stealing glances at Fear, his gaze steely and determined, though she could tell from the way he picked at the sofa with his free hand that it was taking every ounce of willpower not to freak out and call the whole thing off.

At one point, during the second replay of the memory, Fear was looking from the corner of his eye as well and his gaze incidentally met her's. Then he looked down at their joined hands and blinked, as though coming out of a trance. "Oh, Oh my, Sadness. I apologize, truly. Please, go to bed, you don't need to watch this..." His gaze flitted nervously to the scene, where the portly man was once again begging for mercy and it seemed as though his commander changed his mind.

But Sadness thought about Fear, how he dragged her across Headquarters without ever letting her go. She simply shook her head and leaned onto Fear's arm. "I'm fine," she said. The gross slicing sound of steel through flesh pierced Headquarters. "Riley needs us both right now. And you need me."

Fear was about to open his mouth in protest, but opted against it. After a moment of though, his face brightened and he gasped silently. "You know what I just realized?" he said with a hint of mirth in his shaky tone.

Sadness looked up at him, unsmiling but curious as to what the skittish Emotion found so humorous. "What?"

"I realized that Disgust didn't make Riley feel sick from all the, uh," he gulped, " _blood,_ you know?" He sniffed. "I think our girl is really going to be into horror movies down the road. Oh boy," he said with a clear lack of enthusiasm.

Sadness shrugged. "I like horror movies. Maybe by that time you'll brave through 'Shoes of Doom'." That time Fear barked out laughing, then the pair fell back into silence, watching their own "movie" still playing over them.

Throughout the several replays of the memory, Fear kept stealing glances at the plump girl leaning against him. It wasn't until she was fast asleep, as evidenced by her heavy breathing, that he laid his head on top of her's, carefully, so as to not wake her up. But Riley needed to sleep too, though the idea of getting up to remove the memory and disturbing Sadness almost seemed a crime.

A well-thrown shoe knocked it out of the projector, and soon after the monitor went dark.

* * *

 **The scene was from 'Game of Thrones', in case you were wondering. It was the scene where Jon Snow executes Janos Slynt. I was watching it the other day and I couldn't help but wonder, how would the Emotions react to this scene if Riley saw it, still as a young child?**

 **I hope you enjoyed! Next is F - Fear**


	6. F - Fear

_**"We don't choose whom we love. It's just, well, it's beyond our control," - Jaime Lannister**_

 **F - Fear**

The coffee tasted of hot, watery dirt. _Perfect_.

Fear gave his mug one, final stink-eye before upending it over the sink. With a bitterness that could only match the coffee's, he watched the brown liquid seep and gurgle into the drain before rinsing the sink.

"Well, there goes my night," he grumbled. The one thing that could have made dream duty the least bit bearable was shot, quite literally, down the drain. The night may have been saved if Sadness wanted to accompany Fear for dream duty like usual, but of course, tonight she decided to sleep in her own room.

Fear enjoyed Sadness's presence when he had dream duty. She didn't talk much, and most of the time she fell asleep minutes into the first dream. But her presence was something the raw nerve found oddly soothing, her soft breathing a constant source of ambiance that somehow calmed his own nerves and let him know that there's nothing to be afraid of when she was around. Fear has "buddied up" with all of his coworkers for dream duty numerous times in the past, of course, but Joy was loud, Disgust was bitter, and Anger loud and bitter.

To demonstrate just how effective her presence was, a few weeks ago, Riley saw a frightening alien invader movie, and the following sleep had a nightmare about being chased by a giant robot. Fear sweat and shuddered as he watched his baby girl run for her life, knowing the Fear in her dream was doing whatever he could to keep her alive. With his overactive mind, it wasn't hard for Fear to imagine himself in the same scenario. On normal occasions, he would scream and wake Riley up, and then his coworkers would all be mad at him the following day for disturbing their rest because of yet another dream, in which they'd all hand-wave his worries by saying that they can't actually hurt him.

Except for Sadness, she never talked him down. She would always sit with him on the couch and listen to what precisely bothered him about the dream. And most of the time, just talking about it was enough to calm Fear's nerves. For a while he worried that he was annoying the teardrop Emote with his constant jitters and prattling of what others call "irrational fears". But then, not long after Riley almost... ran away... when Fear was plagued with terrors and horrors of what almost happened, what could have happened, Sadness was there.

Sadness sat with him every dream duty since, and he with her. Sadness comforted him and held him when he woke shrieking in the night. Sadness listened and whispered her sweet, calming words when he got scared. And Fear, he realized that Sadness just had too big a heart for one little Emotion.

It wasn't ever hard for Fear to like Sadness. Only she was genuine and kind enough to take his problems and those of others seriously. Though his friends tried, God did they try, they all lacked the blend of patience and understanding Sadness had. Joy lacked understanding, Disgust lacked patience, and Anger both patience and understanding.

 _Plus she's cu-... attractive as a button,_ Fear thought, then mentally berated himself for even thinking such a silly thing. There weren't many things Fear disliked, but the "c" word in this context sent his particles in a fritz. This was _wrong,_ he kept telling himself; Sadness is his _coworker,_ his _dearest friend!_ And how strange is this? Was this even a common occurrence, Emotions falling in... infatuation with each other?

Fear deemed the whole notion ridiculous, and was determined to keep his perception of Sadness, whatever the _heck_ it exactly was, as close to his chest as possible; the poor girl _just_ discovered her purpose and settled into it a couple months ago, they didn't need something so high school as love and drama complicating things for her, not when she's been so good to him already.

Oddly enough, he didn't mind Sadness's "Debbie Downer" attitude as much as the others did. More often than not, rather than change the subject like Joy would normally try to do, Fear and Sadness's negative personas would often spark quite a few discussions regarding the struggles of life and how they affected other people. While seemingly deep and philosophical on the surface, it mainly boiled down to the two of them complaining about what happened the previous day, depressing or scary things in the like. It was hardly intelligent, Fear knew, and he suspected Sadness did too, but they both found it oddly fun and relaxing, which is a luxury Fear himself hardly ever experiences in most other scenarios. Sometimes these conversations would last well into the morning, and realizing this would always result in the two exchanging small, knowing smiles.

 _But not tonight,_ Fear thought. _Tonight I am flying solo and watching... UGH._ Fairy Dream Adventures _again? Oh boy..._

Fear's irritation was the only thing that actually kept him awake as the dream started up, but even then he found himself nodding off not long into it.

Yet he was given a start when shuffling feet came up behind him. Fear was quite proud of himself for not shrieking aloud, but some of the credit went to Dream Productions, for showing yet another rerun of the innocuous _Fairy Dream Adventure,_ and the fact that it was a sound he knew quite well.

"Can't sleep again?" he asked, turning in his swivel chair.

The poor girl almost looked ashamed at being asked the question, as she cast her eyes to the floor and wordlessly nodded her head.

Fear's heart did a backflip. He had to focus on appearing casual as he stood up from his chair, which failed miserably, as he said with an uneasy smile and nervous titter, "Let's take a seat on the couch." _That doesn't sound creepy or pervy at all,_ he cursed, actually growing irritated with his own feeble confidence. He glanced back at the screen: Rainbow Unicorn was currently juggling pies. Riley wouldn't need him tonight.

Fear propped his arm up on the back of the couch, and crossed one leg over the other when he talked with Sadness. The teardrop always slouched, with her hands resting on her belly. Fear noted that she hadn't even changed into her pajamas.

"So what's wrong?" Fear asked, starting the conversation as he usually did. "I thought you wanted to sleep in your own room tonight."

Sadness blinked slowly, staring at some random point above Fear's head. Feeling conscious, the nerve assumed it was his single, goofy hair and drooped it down, tucking away out of sight. Her gaze did not move, and it was then that Fear realized something must have been bothering her. Sadness always was slow to reply, but tonight she just seemed hesitant, like she was trying to form words but they died right as they reached her lips.

"Fear," she finally said, meeting his eyes suddenly, making him jump back a little, "there's something that's been bothering me for a while, about... the others."

A single, arched brow rose into the air. "What about them?" asked Fear. "Have they been giving you trouble?"

"N-No."

"Huh. Well, what is it? I don't see them treating you any differently than usual." _Well, usual in the sense of how they've been the last couple months, when they suddenly put this "nice" act on._

Red patches faded in upon her cheeks. "It's something... else," she mumbled, looking away. "Something personal."

Fear's nonexistent heart squirmed; he was always looking for a chance to help Sadness with an issue, rather than the other way around. "Well, why don't you just start from the beginning?"

The blush on her face only seemed to intensify, and he supposed Sadness could sense it, as she buried herself in the oversized collar of her sweater. For a moment, it seemed like she was unwilling to talk now, which made Fear disappointed in himself, but then suddenly she popped out and said, "This happened a couple days ago. When everybody was finishing up breakfast I went in here, and I saw Disgust sitting on the couch. She wasn't wearing any pants."

Fear's eyes popped open, and now he couldn't help the dark violet beginning to color his own face. Images of Disgust pantsless flooded his mind, and considering she was like a sweet, albeit bratty, younger sibling to him, it was both unsexy and unsettling, and he wanted these sinful thoughts purged immediately. It took a few tries to get one stupid word out: "W-Wha-W-W-Wh- _What_?"

"Disgust was pantsless, she was trying to make me like her but all's it did was bother me." Sadness's gaze cast down to the floor. "It made me feel bad that she was willing to sacrifice her dignity to get my attention. I told her not to, and then she kissed me."

Fear's eyes popped wide open; now this was just getting uncomfortable _and_ heartbreaking. The most he and Sadness had ever done "romantically" was, he realized with an inner-groan, sat next to each other. "K-Kissed?" he choked.

Sadness nodded. "On the mouth. It was my first one. After the initial excitement wore off, I started feeling... odd, and not in a good way."

 _Wait, Sadness didn't like it?_ He mentally smacked himself. _NO! Scratch that, you stupid nerve! Something happened to your friend that clearly made her uncomfortable and she's gone to YOU for help! So help her!_ With a weary sigh, and a rub of his eyes, Fear's attention snapped back to the serious conversation he just realized he was having. "How did you..." he rolled his hand around, trying to think of a phrase, but couldn't like the doofus he was, "...not feel good? Like what did it feel like?"

Sadness thought for a moment, then explained, "Well, it was in my stomach." Sadness looked down at her sweater-clad belly and ran her hands along it, as if still experiencing vestiges of the odd feeling. "It felt... _burning_ in a way, like my tummy-insides were going to explode or something like that."

 _"Tummy-insides,"_ Fear thought, suppressing a laugh, _that's too charming._

"It happens whenever I think about what Disgust did, and now it comes up whenever I think of our friends." She gazed up at him, eyes big and blue and innocent. "What do you think it is, Fear? Because I..." Her gaze dropped. "I _really_ don't want to go to Joy about this..."

Thankfully, with an odd sense of triumph that briefly swelled within his chest, Fear knew what was happening. But then he became sad after it settled in, then worried. Gently, he answered, "Well, Sadness, I think you're having a minor anxiety attack."

"Am I gonna die!?" she whispered, eyes watering.

Fear rattled off a couple dozen "No"s with frantic waves of his hands. "No," he said with finality after calming down. "You're going to be fine. You see," he gave a wry laugh, "that's what I feel on a daily basis."

His assurances did not dry Sadness's eyes, and Fear felt his heart clench into itself until there was nothing left. "You poor, poor thing," she wept, voice barely louder than a whisper. "How do you deal with feeling like this?"

 _You. Riley. I just deal with it._ Fear gave a nonchalant shrug. "How do you deal with being sad all the time?"

Sadness considered what he said for a moment, then, with still wet eyes but a sly look she pointed. "Touche." They both shared a little chuckle.

But Fear knew it wasn't over yet. It never was, not when something was genuinely upsetting Sadness. "But why do you feel like this?" he asked. "What do the rest of our friends have to do with this?"

Sadness's face quickly turned sullen. It felt like hours before she spoke again. "This wasn't the first time Disgust tried to get my attention," she said, then with melancholy tainting her tone, "nor was it the most recent. And Anger's been doing things too, sweet things, I think, doing favors for me, even offering to take up my dream duties. He _never_ asks for more dream duty, Fear. But I let him off easily, because I don't want to hurt his feelings. And I've heard debates or jabs between those two, that would quickly stop when they saw me." She sighed, and slunk deeper into the couch; she truly was miserable. "I sometimes think it was all my fault for leading him on like that. A bit before the move, Anger said something really sweet to me and I... I kind of kissed him, on the cheek. Just as saying thanks, though. Serves me right, I suppose." An blush borne from pure, humiliating embarrassment flooded damn-near every inch of Sadness's face. She trusted Fear with all of this, and yet...!

And yet, he had the nerve, the _gall,_ to feel betrayed! _She... gave Anger a kiss just for saying some sappy stuff!? And I've talked to her, I made her laugh and always treated her well, even before the move and this is what I get?!_ Immediately disgust kicked in, and Fear felt shame settling on his back. He actually sighed deeply into his hands, then rubbed one down the back of his head, feeling the hair spring back into place. Sadness was giving him a funny look. _I need to give myself a long, hard look in the mirror after all this and ask what the heck is wrong with me._

"Hey," he said with forced lightness, "I'm not saying enjoy it, but I would like Anger to be a little nicer to _me_ every now and then." He gave her a cheeky smile, but seeing her expression unmoved Fear quickly turned serious again (well, as serious as he could get). "D-Do you want me to talk to them? I mean, if they really cared about you and were unaware of how uncomfortable you were, maybe..." He trailed off, out of words to say and hoping Sadness understood what he meant anyway.

Sadness looked straight ahead, at the movie screen currently displaying innocent, simple Rainbow Unicorn prancing around and carrying a grinning Riley into a jousting tournament. But Fear knew she wasn't actually watching it.

"That's a good idea Fear," she sighed, sounding fairly unenthusiastic about the idea. "I don't want to hurt their feelings though, that'd be sad." She shook her head, actually gritting her teeth. It was such a startling sight that Fear froze against the couch; he had never seen sweet, quiet Sadness so physically _irritated_ before.

Then she exploded. "I don't like it, Fear. I... I _hate_ it. It's so fake, it's so _unlike_ them! But I don't know how to make them stop without hurting them! I just wanna, _wanna..._ Gah!" Sadness, who had sat up during her rant, never looking away from the television, flung herself back into the sofa with that, honestly, pathetic yell. But Fear did not laugh, like he suspected most would; he knew it took a _lot_ of stress for the teardrop to just erupt like that.

Fear did not know the first think about comforting someone the way Sadness would, but he did the best he could, remembering the days after her and Joy's adventure, where they would talk about what happened, usually ending with tears of happiness.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, hesitant at first, but she settled herself into it and Fear's nerves relaxed.

"I hate being treated differently, Fear," she mumbled. "It makes me wish that the move never happened, sometimes. But I know that's not the way to be looking at this... I don't know." She shook her head, then pushed herself off the couch, away from Fear's hand. She looked to him. "I'm sorry for bothering you with this."

He waved it off with a relaxed smile that even nosy Disgust would fall for. "Don't worry about it," he said. "I'm glad I could help you with this, really."

For the first time that night, Sadness put on a genuine smile, not like the one briefly made from their small chuckle earlier. "You're a great friend, Fear," she said. "I'm glad."

With a smile of his own, genuine for the first time as well, Fear slid off the sofa and went up to her, just for a (mainly) friendly hug that would assure her everything would be okay.

But it seemed Sadness had similar ideas, as she too moved forward and wrapped her arms around his skinny form just as he maneuvered to mirror the gesture. Fear involuntarily gave a quiet sigh, and accidentally breathed deep.

He smelled rain freshly fallen from the sky. Though he fought it, Fear smiled; it just felt so right.

"You'll be fine," he said. Then he thought of himself, and her, and everything else happening and how she felt about it.

It hurt. It really hurt, as he realized right then and there, of what will never happen. But Fear is a big Emotion, and he knew what had to be done, or rather, what had to be _not_ done.

He followed up his previous statement with one more for himself than for Sadness, but, maybe, also for Disgust and Anger, and even Joy for all he knew:

"We'll all be fine."

* * *

 **This is probably my favorite that I've written so far. I hope it was worth the wait.**

 **Sorry for the long wait, by the by. I literally have two _looong_ Inside Out oneshots I've been working on, that I feel super bad for not finishing but I just wanted something for the fans over here with something. **

**Good news though, G - Gratuitous shouldn't take too long, I have it mostly written already. Don't worry; despite the title, it's actually a much more lighthearted story than this one.**


	7. G - Gentle

**G - Gentle**

Like with many things, it started off small. A couple friendly gestures, an offer to grab a mind manual for her, or fetch a glass of water for him. To an outsider looking in, they could just be seen as two good friends, doing what good friends do. To an actual member of this little circle, who knew these individuals personally, they would see Sadness exercising little acts of kindness to Anger, and him returning the gestures, and vice versa.

But to Joy, Fear, and Disgust, they were so totally flirting. It was hard not to notice, impossible, really. Two of the three had to be observant, it was in their job descriptions. Another just has a wild imagination she confuses with reality.

But it wasn't long before these gestures became more... personal. First, they would start sitting close together on the couch. Then exiting side by side from their living complex. Before the three knew what was what, they came down one morning, hand in hand. Sadness was well-aware of the silence as they waddled down the ramp together; her face was akin to Friendship Island's mixed memory as she tried hiding it in her sweater. Anger, by contrast, seemed completely calm. He always radiated confidence. Somehow, this only seemed to make the picture all the more... strange.

By the time they reached the bottom, the silence became unbearable for one drama-fueled Emotion, and she blurted out loud enough to frighten Fear, "Are you guys dating?!"

Sadness looked away, and made a sound that almost sounded like a whimper. She used her free hand to push her collar further up her reddening face, nearing her eyes.

"Yeah, we are," Anger said in his harsh, gravelly voice. Behind a smile, Joy cringed at the horrid contrast it made with Sadness's voice. He shot a finger at Disgust. "And if you got any snarky crap-comment about it, please, Princess, save it for somebody who actually gives a damn about your opinion."

"Awkward" was the word of the day after that. The three Emotions kept glancing to the couple with wary glances, always finding them chatting in low voices, or doing their job in helping Riley. Anger didn't say a word to them. Sadness appeared to be the only one acting like everything was normal, making small talk with Joy and Fear, helping Disgust fetch everybody coffee when Riley took a nap.

She took the small window of alone time with Sadness to bombard her with questions:

"So you and Anger..." Disgust opened the cabinets.

"Me and Anger." Sadness removed a bin of coffee powder.

"What's the deal?" She filled the pot with water.

"We like each other." She took the pot and dumped it into the reservoir.

"Yeah, but _why?"_ The pot went back on the heating plate.

"He's very protective." Five spoonfuls of grounds into the filter.

"And possessive." She put the filter into the basket.

"But he can be really gentle." She turned the coffeemaker on.

The lid _slammed_ shut. "Gentle?" Disgust scoffed. "Anger? Sadness, honey, I'm only saying this because I love you, but you _need_ to back out when you can. The only thing that happens when you get close to Anger, is you get _burned._ Just ask Fear."

Sadness's brows actually knitted together in annoyance. "That's not a very nice thing to say. You don't know how Anger treats me." She folded her hands over her belly, quietly waiting for Disgust's reply.

The green Emote put a hand to her chin, running her gaze quickly down Sadness's body before hastily meeting her eyes again. She seemed to be thinking. "Lift your sleeves," she commanded.

Sadness reeled. "What? Why?"

"I want to see if you're hiding any bruises, lift your sleeves." Disgust spoke in a tone that booked no argument, it was stern and commanding but also, if one heard right, filled to the _brim_ with worry.

But the look Sadness gave her just then, eyes wide, glassy, her mouth ajar with shock, it suddenly made all that confidence feel grossly inappropriate. Before Disgust could reach out, to take back her words, Sadness barreled out of the kitchen, sobbing into her hands.

Things weren't any better for Anger.

"I swear, if you ever hurt her!"

"I won't! Get off me!"

"I mean it, Anger! As her bestest friend in the world-"

"Would you quit being a couple o' girls? I ain't never burning a single particle on her body! Scout's honor!"

"You'd better not! Otherwise, it's _tickle time_ for three straight hours, got it?!" Joy grit her teeth, pressing her nose down where Anger's would, mirroring his mad-dog look almost perfectly. Fear stood behind her, looking over Joy's shoulder with a tremble in his posture.

He kept shooting glances to the kitchen door, making sure to give the signal for when Sadness and Disgust came back for their coffees. Being a master at the art, Fear knew five could take a while. _And "a while" means a whole lot of... this._

"I know all your tickle spots!" Joy roared.

"HOW!?"

Fear knuckled his eyes; worrying for one person was exhausting enough, but two? Fear knew Joy was achieving nothing with this back and forth; she just didn't have the push that, well, Anger did when it came to protecting loved ones, or Disgust for that matter. She was more like Sadness in that regard, more of an emotional support than physical, though not nearly as skilled as the blue Emote herself.

It was as Fear thought it time to check on the kitchen door again, that it slammed open with a crash and Sadness camp sprinting out, sliding on her feet and running in place for half a second on the glossy floors as she whipped around the corner and dashed up the ramp. Heaving sobs, muffled by her sweater, were loud enough still to echo throughout Headquarters.

Disgust came sprinting out moments later. "Sadness, I'm sorry!" she called up the ramp, but her friend slammed the door to their living complex closed before her words even left her mouth.

The three Emotions watched these brief seconds unfold with startled expressions, and as soon as the door slammed Anger began fighting against Joy's slackened grip. "Off! _Get off me!_ " Joy did not make a grab for him as he was freed, and Anger made a bull's charge for the ramp, and Disgust made sure to give it a wide berth and avoid his wrath. She still winced as he ran by, though he powered up the ramp and practically shoulder-rushed the door without ever looking back.

Disgust was still gawking at their front door when Fear and Joy approached. "What happened?" Fear hissed, worry quaking his voice.

Disgust blinked, realizing where she was, and turned to give her coworker a frantic look to match his own. "I was concerned, okay!?" she snapped. "I was just trying to look out for the poor thing!"

"Disgust, what did you say?" Joy asked, her voice calm but clearly struggling to maintain the illusion as worry crept through.

Disgust sputtered as she exchanged glances with the door and her coworkers, as if she it were a toss up between confessing and running away. "I told her to lift her sleeve, alright!?" she snarled, glaring. "I wanted to make sure Anger wasn't hurting her or anything!"

Fear had to resist prickling her with sarcasm. "Wow. Yeah, _that_ would have gone over well." But failed.

"Oh, well, excuse _me_ for showing concern and being the most amazing friend in the world!"

"Both of you, shut up!"

Their eyes trailed up to see Joy kneeling beside the door, giving them an urging look before opening it slightly and stepping through on soundless footfalls. Disgust and Fear exchanged looks and followed her lead. They heard Sadness's soft cries murmuring down the hall, broken up every so often by Anger's voice turned down to a low rumble. Joy and the others stopped by Sadness's door, where it was open a crack just large enough for all three to peer through.

Inside, Anger was sitting on the bed next to Sadness. His hand was on her wrist, the other on her back. Sadness's head hung low, her hair falling covering her eyes. Quiet weeping shook her form. Their height difference, despite being the two shortest Emotions, was painfully noticeable.

"What happened down there?" Anger murmured.

"Nothing," Sadness muttered quickly. She sniffled. "I mean... Disgust, she... it doesn't matter, Anger. Let's just go back downstairs..."

Anger wrapped both hands around one of her's and held it tight. "Don't you say that, don't say 'this doesn't matter', it does. So tell me, _what did she say to you to make you cry?_ " His voice seemed harsh and angry with her, but one look at Anger's face showed something the three Emotions spying on them never thought they'd see cross his features:

Sorrow. Worry. _Compassion_.

Anger's been spending a lot of time with Sadness, it seems. Joy herself had to hold back a coo when she noticed him bunching up her sleeve in his hands as the silence continued.

Moments later, teardrop wiped her nose across her sleeve, sniffling and then sighing thickly after. "It's... I know, it's what we expected would happen to us, it's just..."

Anger rubbed her hand. "Disgust, Joy, they all care about you, babe."

"She..." Sadness swallowed hard, then, finally, she lifted her head, cheeks stained with tears, eyes red, and irritated. She sniffled again. "Disgust, she... she thought you were hurting me..."

A hard scowl crossed Anger's features. His lips worked in and out, shifted to the side, signifying the grounding of his teeth. Finally, she sighed, and leaned over to tuck his head underneath her chin. "She don't know what she's talkin' about."

Sadness laid her cheek over his head, where not a single crack of amber was to be found. "You're right," she murmured. "She was just looking out for me. I should go apologize to her."

"Do you believe her?" he blurted out, pulling away from under her. His eyes were wide and, dare Fear might say, scared.

Sadness looked over to her partner, eyes innocent and loving. "No, not at all." Not even a second of thought.

But that only seemed to make Anger feel worse; his eyes fell to his shoes, swinging back and forth slightly. "They all think I'm some terrible guy though."

Sadness gave no words, only feeling, as she scooted over and wrapped her arms around him tight. She pulled him into herself, burying his face into her shoulder, and she inhaled deeply. That sat this way for at least a minute, until Anger shifted his arms to hug her back.

"I don't think you're a terrible guy," Sadness whispered, her voice husky and lovingly soft.

"I know."

"I think you're really sweet."

"Pushin' it, babe."

A light fluttering came from Sadness that sounded almost like a giggle. Joy reeled back; she could _never_ make Sadness giggle!

Then Anger pulled away from her, straddling her lap with his hands on her shoulders. His eyes gazed into her's, and for a moment time seemed to have froze with them, until the distance between their faces slowly narrowed shut.

When their lips met, Fear and Disgust had to use both hands to stop Joy from squealing too loud. Yet, it wasn't the kiss itself that got such a reaction out of Joy, nor was it the dreamlike beauty of the whole picture, with the light of Long Term Memory seeping through the curtains of Sadness's bedroom, illuminating their silhouettes. Though close, it wasn't even the way Sadness's fingers adorably curled into Anger's shirt when he playfully nibbled her lip.

Rather, it was what Joy noticed about Anger's _hands_ of all things.

They grabbed onto her upper arms, but they didn't _grab_ like Anger's would squeeze the life out of the levers on Riley's console. His fingers were spread, gently laid over the fabric of her cable-knit sweater, occasionally they brushed down her arms, to her wrists, tickled the ends of her fingers before travelling back up and resting upon her cheek.

It was all just so _gentle._

* * *

 **Sorry this took a while. Next, and hopefully soon, will be** **H - Homecoming**


End file.
